If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The Orville - a semi-spoiler-free review

I'm a little surprised nobody's posted on this yet. I guess I'm the first...

Anyway, I steeled myself for the worst; McFarland has something of a Midas Touch when it comes to lowest-common-denominator TV (Family Guy, etc.) and some of the reviews I saw weren't exactly glowing, so I watched with the expectation that the humor would be lowbrow and the flow uneven. If it sucked, I wasn't going to be disappointed.

I wasn't disappointed. I suppose you could say that I was pleasantly surprised, in fact. I personally didn't find a lot of the humor amusing (with the exception of the redwood sequence - the ex had the only truly funny line in the show), but it had its moments. The SFX was OK, and the ship designs weren't bad. The humor - such as it was - was forced, definitely below the belt, and the funny parts didn't always mesh with the more serious action sequences. By no means is this must-see sci-fi - you'll easily find better on Netflix - hell, you'll find better on SyFy - but it's not as terrible as it could have been.

A little rough out of the starting gate, but I will give it another episode or two before I cash out.

I'm actually looking more forward to seeing this (guess I'll have to catch eps on Hulu) than the new Star Trek Discovery which is due out shortly. (I'll be waiting for STD on blu-ray......God, that did not sound right at all, did it?)
I definitely expect to see the standard Seth McFarlane humor, but likely not to the level of Family Guy or American Dad.

Having watched the movie "A Million Ways to Die in the West", my conclusion is that Seth McFarlane's comedy comes across better in his animated series than in his live action material. Seth seemed to want to show off some chops for dramatic acting in that movie, and his humor did seem a little forced.

I have a feeling it will be like this in The Orville, but I don't have a problem with that if the stories are good. I think the show has been labeled as a "sci-fi comedy-drama", so I see some potential for this to be almost (note: almost) M*A*S*H*-like. (M*A*S*H* remains, to date, my all time favorite tv show).

As always, to quote the title by Asia: "Only Time Will Tell".

UPDATE:

Ok, my roomie and I just watched the premiere, called "Old Wounds".

We enjoyed it. And it was as I expected. Seth McFarlane likes to work his dramatic acting chops, much like he did in "A Million Ways to Die in the West". Not overly dramatic, just enough to show that sometimes he's serious. I think it's going to be an interesting storyline between him and his XO.

The visual effects were good for TV. Made me think like an advanced version of 80's FX like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century....or perhaps, better, about on par with third season Star Trek TNG.

Hulu didn't offer a preview for the next ep, but I am very interested in seeing it.

Oh, and Adrienne Palicki......hell yeah!!! (I really wish her Wonder Woman tv series would've been given a chance.)
Penny Johnson as the ship's doctor....she played Kassidy Yates in Deep Space Nine.
And Lt. Alara is cute.
4 out of 5.

Last edited by Martok2112; 09-11-2017 at 11:24 AM.

"It is not so much that I am a smart man, rather that I have simply been accused of having good ideas....on occasion." -Martok2112
"Much of what I know, I don't know half as well as I'd like, and half of what I know is more than deserves to be learned." -Martok2112

I watched it on Sunday. I enjoyed it very much. Some of the humor fell a bit flat, but it's a pilot and every series has it's bugs to work out. Most of the critics that reviewed it before Sunday, universally panned it. Unfortunately for them, the audience loved it. The ratings finally came in today and it was the #2 show for that time slot. I see nothing but potential and I'm grateful to see something other than the endless stream of dark and gritty sci-fi that's been gracing our screens for far too long.

While I personally don't mind darker, grittier sci-fi, yes, The Orville is indeed a breath of much needed fresh air. I hope Fox doesn't make the mistake with this that it did with Firefly and Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles by axing it prematurely.

It does seem that Seth McFarlane's humor works a lot better in animation than in live action.

Last edited by Martok2112; 09-13-2017 at 11:05 AM.

"It is not so much that I am a smart man, rather that I have simply been accused of having good ideas....on occasion." -Martok2112
"Much of what I know, I don't know half as well as I'd like, and half of what I know is more than deserves to be learned." -Martok2112

I'm running a week behind... It's alright, gave me some laugh, especially the dog scene. I give this a Big Mac. Is it the best burger? No, but sometimes a Big Mac can be enjoyable.

I'll give it a McDonalds Angus Mushroom and Swiss.

"It is not so much that I am a smart man, rather that I have simply been accused of having good ideas....on occasion." -Martok2112
"Much of what I know, I don't know half as well as I'd like, and half of what I know is more than deserves to be learned." -Martok2112